So i have been playing bass for sometime now, but i havent been able to touch a guitar in a couple years. i joined the military and now that i am at an actuall station i want to pick up playing electric rather than bass. to be more specific i bough and electric acoustic. i didnt really know what direction to take but i had some 400 dollars in amazon money so i bought an ovation. never really heard to much about them but as a first guitar thats not base i wasnt going to go to crazy. SO to my question here. would you reccomend putting new strings on? and if so what kind would you suggest for an electric acoustic guitar? im 400% dedicated to this so any input would be great. i look forward to your responses. thank you!

For an an electric/acoustic - I'm guessing you mean an acoustic guitar with a pick-up so's you can play through an amp? If it was me, I'd put new strings on straight away - fairly light strings, because it's going to be tough playing barre chords otherwise. On my acoustic guitars, I use 9's - I snapped too many top E strings back in the bad old days when I tried to use 8's. Note - I also use the same gauge on electrics, I like to be able to bend the strings a long way, especially when playing blues.

HOWEVER.....most people would agree that the heavier the strings you put on a guitar, the fuller the tone you get....especially on an acoustic! 10's or 11's are probably the norm, I'd guess...

It's a trade-off - the lighter the strings, the easier to fret....the heavier the strings, the fuller the tone.

It would help, though, if you told us exactly what model of Ovation you've got, possibly with a link to a picture....

Good luck, anyway!

Vic

"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)

I would use guitar strings designed for acoustic guitars rather than electric . The difference being that the wound strings for acoustic are usually wrapped with a bronze alloy , which has superior tonal qualities . Since the pickup in an acoustic guitar is usually piezo-electric it picks up the vibrations from the strings . An electric guitar pickup utilizes the magnetic properties of the strings so wound electric strings use steel or steel alloys . Unwound strings are basically the same , that is as long as you don't include nylon strings into the mix . I support the use of lighter strings for beginning players but someone who has played the bass for a long time should have no problem using heavier gauge strings from the start . Good luck !

Definitely put new strings on it and if you haven't done it before, let an expert show you how so you get it right every time in the future. I always clean my strings with surgical spirit and cotton wool as the dead skin adheres to the underside of the strings and makes them corrode and ultimately lose tone and snap. Ovation guitars are awesome, I had 2 in the past and they sounded and played brilliantly, especially when plugged in. Good luck and have fun.